Plan Your Visit
Are you ready to get outside? Metro Parks are ideal places to help you feel one with nature. You can take a stroll on more than 230 miles of trails, ...Read More
Search Results for: natural play areas
The Regulars Speak
ANDY MILLER Assistant Park Manager, Chestnut Ridge Metro Park Humans, as one saying goes, are creatures of habit. Some habits are bad, some habits are good, and some habits are …Read More
Behind the Parks: Meet Megan at Inniswood
Megan Fleischer Horticulturist, Inniswood Metro Gardens Hometown and background I’m from Perrysburg, which is about 12 miles southwest of Toledo in northwest Ohio and has a population of about 25,000. …Read More
Olentangy Scenic River 50th Anniversary Celebration
Celebrate the Olentangy River’s 50th Anniversary of Scenic designation with Ohio Division of Natural Areas & Preserves and various community partners. Learn about the unique attributes of the river and …Read More
Behind the Parks: Meet Andrew Boose, Metro Parks Aquatic Ecologist
Andrew Boose Metro Parks Aquatic Ecologist Hometown and background I was born in Sandusky, but I lived a little to the east of there, or “on the other side of …Read More
Behind the Parks: Meet Amy Klamut at Metro Parks Headquarters
Amy Klamut Metro Parks Payroll Specialist Hometown and Background I’m from Mount Vernon, which is about an hour northeast of Columbus. It’s the county seat of Knox County and has …Read More
20 IN 23: The Last 10 Years
VIRGINIA GORDON Communications Coordinator This concluding article in the series of Metro Parks’ park histories focuses on parks that have opened in the last 10 years (Rocky Fork, Homestead, Scioto …Read More
Behind the Parks: Meet Stephanie West at Blendon Woods
Stephanie West Senior Naturalist, Blendon Woods and Rocky Fork Metro Parks Hometown and background I come from University Heights, an eastside suburb of Cleveland. I graduated from Springfield’s Wittenberg University …Read More
20 IN 23: The first Metro Park (Blacklick Woods)
VIRGINIA GORDON Communications Coordinator Seventy-five years ago, this October, the first park in the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District opened its gate to the public for the first …Read More
Behind the Parks: Meet Eric at Battelle Darby Creek
Eric Reiner Maintenance Technician, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park Hometown and background I was born in Columbus, but I spent most of my early years living in Fairfield County. Our …Read More
Furry Friends Make for the Best Hiking Buddies
LIZ CHRISTIAN Social Media and Marketing Specialist Hiking is fun, but hiking with your best friend is even better! Metro Parks has over 100 miles of pet trails throughout the …Read More
20 IN 23: The Story of Slate Run
VIRGINIA GORDON Communications Coordinator Slate Run, when it opened in 1981, became the largest Metro Park in the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District. In 1963, a full 18 …Read More
20 IN 22: The Peninsula
VIRGINIA GORDON Communications Coordinator Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together? Metro Parks was very much part of the A-Team, the John ‘Hannibal’ Smith of the moment, …Read More
20 IN 22: The Westerville Oasis
VIRGINIA GORDON Communications Coordinator The creative impulse to found what would eventually become Sharon Woods Metro Park is inextricably linked with plans to build two major Interstate freeways. The preservation …Read More
20 IN 22: The Second Child (Blendon Woods)
VIRGINIA GORDON Communications Coordinator The first child gets all the love. But somehow, when the second child comes along, and even though the love of the first is undiminished, plenty …Read More
20 IN 22: The Three Bs (of Clear Creek)
VIRGINIA GORDON Communications Coordinator In music, critics speak reverently of the Three Bs (Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms) and their prominent role in the history of music and the arts. The …Read More
20 IN 22: The Innis Legacy
VIRGINIA GORDON Communications Coordinator Metro Parks is fortunate enough to own and operate one of the most-admired public gardens in the entire Midwest. Inniswood Metro Gardens is now a 123-acre …Read More
20 IN 22: The Northwest Quadrant
VIRGINIA GORDON Communications Coordinator As the 20th century entered its dotage, the map of Metro Parks’ locations showed a distinct lack of presence in the northwest. There were 11 Metro …Read More
20 IN 22: The Darby Creeks and the Darby Plains
VIRGINIA GORDON Communications Coordinator At a little more than 7,000 acres in area, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park is by far the largest of the parks in the Columbus and …Read More
Behind the Parks: Meet Brittany at Highbanks Metro Park
BRITTANY CLARK Park Technician, Highbanks Metro Park Hometown I’m from Sardinia, a small town east of Cincinnati. Population is about 1500. Years of Service I joined Metro Parks in May …Read More